Chapter 67: Wild outdoor lunch party
After embroidering handkerchiefs, Diana decided to cook with the noble ladies using a simple stove made only of stacked bricks.
First, she took everyone to the vegetable garden to harvest lettuce. Then they headed to the edible flower field and let them pick flowers as they pleased.
Next, they made dressing. They mixed oil, vinegar, sugar, and salt together to create a sweet and sour dressing.
They tossed the lettuce and sliced spring onions with the dressing, and sprinkled edible flowers on top. The women were enchanted by the incredibly unique flower salad.
Lastly, they made galettes in a frying pan. They cracked an egg in the center of the galette dough and folded the thin dough over the sunny-side-up egg.
They arranged the cute galettes with a yolk surrounded by flower salad on a plate, creating a visually and tastefully pleasing one-plate meal.
“Wow, it’s so cute!”
The noble ladies were excited and delighted.
Sofia’s cheeks were flushed.
“It’s wonderful. This is my first time cooking, but it’s so much fun.”
Diana nodded with a smile.
“But it doesn’t end here, right? Everyone, please prepare some drinks.”
They all milked the cows that had finally returned from herding, and Diana personally served the food.
Everything was an unfamiliar experience for them.
Under the blue sky, the freshly squeezed milk and freshly made galettes shimmered and reflected the light.
Leon, who had finished tending to the mountains and came down, arranged a bouquet of hydrangeas in the center of the table.
Diana prepared two plates for herself and Leon, and a lunch party for five was held.
Eating outside made the meal taste even more delicious. The fragrance of the mountains mixed with the food, providing a refreshing sensation that couldn’t be put into words.
The noble ladies, who had initially worn prickly expressions, now had childlike smiles on their faces.
“Oh, how wonderful.”
Sofia gazed dreamily at the sky.
“Making your own meals is so delicious, isn’t it?”
Diana nodded.
“Yes, it is. I want everyone to experience this feeling at least once.”
“…I was a bit skeptical of you, Diana-san. I thought you were living a difficult and impoverished life to be with the person you love, but now I realize how wrong I was.”
The other two noble ladies nodded in agreement. Diana was surprised.
“! No way…”
“But, you know, when I came here and tried doing things on my own as you suggested, it turned out to be so much fun. I realized that just waiting with my mouth open like a baby bird won’t get me anywhere. If I don’t move my own hands and feet, I can’t become happy.”
On top of the hill in the borderlands, there was a run-down mountain hut.
From a distance, it probably looked like there was nothing there.
However, when she jumped in as she was invited, she discovered a world that nobles could never have imagined.
Diana gripped the knife and fork and boldly announced to them.
“I’m thinking of starting a new shop here.”
Upon hearing that, their faces seemed to brighten up.
“If we sell what we’ve been making and hold small events like today, we can have a two-pronged approach for the shop. Today is a trial event, so there won’t be any charges, but from the next time, we’ll properly charge for the ingredients and take on more ambitious challenges.”
The noble ladies exchanged blushing glances.
“It’s a wonderful endeavor. If there’s another opportunity, I would love to participate.”
“Let’s invite our friends too.”
Diana’s eyes sparkled.
“Thank you, everyone…”
“When it comes to going to Diana-san’s place, even my husband won’t complain. We’re happy to have a new place to visit.”
Diana found it hard to believe that the noble ladies were being complained at when they went out, but for some reason, she felt relieved that they trusted her.
“The shop isn’t built yet, right?”
“No, it’s not. So for now, we can only hold events during good weather and warm seasons. Once the shop is ready, we can gather regardless of the weather or temperature.”
“We’re looking forward to the day the shop opens.”
“Hopefully in autumn…”
After lunch, the nobles, still filled with excitement, boarded their carriages and left.
Silence once again descended upon the mountains.
Leon, while seeing them off with Diana, muttered to himself.
“They all… had such happy faces.”
“Yes.”
“The people I met at the inn that day and the people in front of me now, they don’t seem like the same people at all. They have such a beautiful smile.”
“Fufufu… That’s right.”
“By the way, is work already finished for today?”
Diana nodded but looked up with a puzzled expression. Leon leaned his cheek against Diana’s forehead as if coaxing her.
“Well then, we can be together from now on.”
“…Yeah.”
“I hope the shop opens soon.”
“Oh, Leon…”
Leon pulled Diana closer and their lips met. Their sweaty cheeks stuck together as they laughed together.
After the feast.
The couple washed the dishes covered in flowers by the well.
The white plates reflected the light and sparkled.
It was a beautiful afternoon, everything was beautiful.
・・・
『”𝒜𝓌𝑒𝒷𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈.𝒸𝑜𝓂” – 𝒟𝒾𝓈𝒸𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒶 𝒸𝒶𝓅𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒, 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝒹𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒, 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒾𝓃𝒹𝓊𝓁𝑔𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 “𝒹𝒶𝒾𝓁𝓎 𝓊𝓅𝒹𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈” 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑒𝓍𝒸𝓁𝓊𝓈𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓉𝑜 “𝒶𝒹𝓋𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒𝒹 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓈”.』
・・・
Meanwhile, at that time――
Sophia returned to the inn in Pabst village, where her husband Klaus was waiting, riding in a carriage.
From her beloved white lace pouch, she gently took out a handkerchief embroidered with the letter 〝K.〟
And without hesitation, she headed straight to her husband’s room.
She opened the heavy door.
Klaus was reading a novel, but he noticed his wife’s presence and looked up.
“…What’s wrong, Sofia?”
Sofia’s face was filled with determination.
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